Page 24 of He Has Charm

“I can personally guarantee he will be the best behaved hockey player in the NHL, sir. We’re so confident at the Jett Agency that we would be happy to cover the cost of a new commercial shoot and Knight would be happy to do one as long as it’s local.” This last part I got permission from Jett with great reluctance, but we both agreed the agency could afford it, and once we got one company to cut Maddox a break others would follow. It’s a sad fact that people in this business are like sheep, following the her or the trend. As soon as one sponsor re-signs him, others will follow suit. I explain my idea to shoot the commercial at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, with their cooperation, and highlighting both Mama Regina’s and Knight’s generosity and everyone’s love of their pizza..

“That’s a very interesting offer, Ms. St. John.”

“Call me Harper.”

“Of course. Harper, you obviously have a lot of confidence and real loyalty for your man Knight. That’s admirable.” He pauses and I force myself to not speak since the puck’s still in his zone, so to speak, and I need him to commit under the pressure of my waiting him out. An old trick Jett taught me. He said he learned it on the ice, though he never explained how it worked. One of my boss’s quirks is he likes to be a little bit mysterious, hold his cards close to his vest, and savors the ability to surprise whoever’s on the other side of the negotiation.

And that means everyone and anyone who’s on the other side of any given conversation. I swear he negotiates with his mother over morning coffee.

“I’ll tell you what,” Vizzy says. “I’ll agree to your proposition if we do the shoot now, say within the next two weeks when the Brawlers’ schedule allows, and wait to air it at the end of the season. No payment until that decision is made.”

“Sounds perfect,” I say. “I’ll see that we can fit it in his schedule. And I’ll be there too. Handling Mr. Knight.” He chuckles.

"I'm sure you will."

“Professionally,” I add in a cool voice. I promise to send him some dates for the shoot and we end the call. Maybe I took Vizzy the wrong way, but I let the innuendo slide off my shoulders because I still have work to do.

I need to get the hospital on board. Luckily I have an influential contact there who owes me a favor. And she knows very well that whatever Knight has been accused of lately, he’s always been good to children’s hospitals, generous with his time and money, even if the money part has been well hidden. And this is important enough for Knight for me to call in a favor.

There’s a knock at the door and my friend Shelly shouts at me from the other side to open up. I drop my phone and the Mama Regina promo vanishes from my head. The ache in my chest that I didn’t realize was all about needing a friend pushes everything else aside and propels me to the door so fast you’d think I was back on the ice at the arena. I throw open the door, and my need to hug Shelly for all I’m worth is thwarted by the giant box of my things that I had shipped to her place and that she’s now carrying in front of her as she stumbles into the room.

“I made it!”

“Shelly, I’m so glad you’re here.” I grin like a girl in an orphanage desperate for a real family. I hug her around the box and help her with it into my room. We dump it on my bed and I give her a real hug.

“This is going to be great—like old times in college. Maybe I can find us a pickup game.”

“I don’t think I’ll have time for that. I’m on call 24/7 to… handle Maddox.” Although I’m not sure about away games. Jett was going to confirm that the Brawlers agree that Coach is in charge of him on the road, or this proposition could get costly. We have a nice reunion and chat and I promise to take her to the next home game.

“How about inviting to me a part so I can meet one of those hot hockey hunks?” she asks. I laugh, but I have to let her down.

“No parties. Maddox is off parties. We’re concentrating on hockey.”

“Not even a charity event or somewhere I can meet—maybe even hook up with one of those notorious Brawlers I hear tell about?”

I snort at her. “You’re crazy. Most of them are married and the rest are harmless. Maddox is the only one you could classify as notorious.” And privately, I’m not even sure his notorious rep is deserved.

“Well then, maybe I can hook up with big bad Maddox unless you’re already—”

“No! I’m not.” She laughs. “And no, you can’t—he’s on good behavior. Strict orders for no hooking up and I can’t very well make an exception for my friend. How would that look? My boss would kill me if anyone found out.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble, but damn, girl. That’s one tough assignment you got there.”

“Tell me about it.”

“So when can we get together and hang out?”

“How about at the next Brawlers home game?”

She squeals her acceptance to the invitation. “I bet you get damn good seats as the star player’s handler.” She shoves my shoulder and I roll my eyes.

“We’ll have the best seats and a blast. Having you around will keep me sane.”

“Why is that? He driving you crazy?”

“Out of my mind.”

“Sounds like a story I want to hear about, but I have to get back to work. Managing a Paul Revere College’s rink is fun, if challenging. But don’t you worry. I’ll make sure I get time off for every single Brawlers home game for the duration. Wouldn’t miss this little adventure with you for the world.”